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Monday, June 05, 2023 — Houston, TX

Features




FEATURES 1/24/23 10:28pm

Take it or leave it: EUA hosts book exchange event

The English Undergraduate Association hosted a “Take a Book, Leave a Book” event on Thursday, Jan. 19, where people could swap books with other students to refresh their collections. The EUA also welcomed students to just stop by and chat with others about their favorites and pick up a free book — or two. 


FEATURES 1/17/23 11:58pm

Owls run past the hedges, into Houston

The Chevron Houston Marathon, Houston’s annual marathon hosted every January, took place on Jan. 14 and 15 this past weekend. Rice students, faculty and even president alike took part, running anywhere from 3.1 to a whopping 26.2 miles.


FEATURES 1/17/23 11:54pm

Oh nori they didn’t: Lovetteers try for sushi world record

It’s a frequent joke that Rice students never travel beyond the hedges of campus. But a group of students at Lovett College are trying to change this stereotype with a single sushi roll. Lovett’s sushi committee, founded by Resident Associate Naoko Ozaki during the 2021-2022 academic year, has two objectives: break a world record for the longest sushi roll and use the event as a catalyst for local outreach. 


FEATURES 1/17/23 11:52pm

Guggenheim Fellow Tomás Q. Morín on music, inspiration

Poet and assistant creative writing professor Tomás Q. Morín does not like musicals. “I’ve never liked the movie ‘The Sound of Music.’ That was one of the first [musicals] that I really intensely disliked,” Morín said. “As an adult, when I discovered [jazz saxophonist John] Coltrane’s version of ‘My Favorite Things,’ it just completely blew my mind, and while it didn’t change my feelings about the movie, it definitely changed my feelings about the song.” 


FEATURES 1/17/23 11:51pm

Behind closed doors: FLI students navigate SSI resources

How does a school ranked No. 1 for both its race/class interaction and quality of life provide resources for students experiencing financial, academic or personal burdens? The Office of Student Success Initiatives, and by extension Rice’s resources for first generation and/ or low-income students, runs largely through word of mouth, according to director Araceli Lopez.


SPECIAL PROJECTS 1/10/23 10:23pm

Student workers discuss job conditions on campus

Student workers are everywhere on campus. Rice undergraduates run O-Week, play a role in academic advising, manage large residential college budgets, work for the athletic department and more. What conditions do these student workers face?


FEATURES 1/10/23 10:16pm

Inked: Exploring the stories behind student tattoos

The letter ‘Oht,’ a runic character and video game logo, is emblazoned on Felicity Phelan’s inner wrist. It was their first tattoo, Phelan said. “‘Oblivion’ was the first ‘real’ video game I ever played, and the ‘Elder Scrolls’ series is one of my favorites,” Phelan said. “In the game, there are these portals you go through, and the logo is the shape of one of those portals. Since ‘Oblivion’ was my first video game, I think of it as my ‘portal’ into the world of video games and thought it was fitting for a first tattoo.”


FEATURES 1/10/23 10:08pm

Owls fly high: Students talk work on Artemis missions

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Artemis. Artemis 1, NASA’s first mission in a series of lunar exploration trips, launched in November 2022. Perhaps you saw some of your Rice peers’ handiwork — as Rice and NASA continue to collaborate, several Rice students are able to contribute to the Artemis missions through the Johnson Space Center’s Pathways Program.


FEATURES 1/10/23 10:01pm

Looking back at Rice’s first year of Gulf Scholars Program

From sewer overflows to environmental resilience toolkits, Rice students are becoming better equipped to handle an ongoing climate crisis. The Gulf Scholars Program at Rice is supported by the National Academies Gulf Research Program, which provides support for similar programming at universities in the Gulf of Mexico region. The environmental studies program specializes in action related to local-level challenges faced by communities in the Gulf of Mexico region. According to the program website, participants will address challenges in areas of community health and resilience, environmental protection and offshore energy safety.


FEATURES 11/29/22 11:44pm

World Cup fever infects campus

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 began Nov. 20 and has brought much of the world to a halt with each game. From last-second winners to amazing goals and seat-clenching upsets, the drama has been high and the world has been captivated by it. Students at Rice are no exception, with a number of watch parties taking place everyday to celebrate and give students a place to cheer on their favorite countries and players. The Pub at Rice has streamed many of the games and has been a hub for many soccer fans in the past week, according to Will Rice College senior and head bartender Jonathan Lloyd.


FEATURES 11/29/22 11:44pm

Deck the halls with these holiday activities

If you are looking to explore Houston in its peak holiday season, want to escape campus during dead days or would just like to unfreeze your inner Mariah Carey, look no further for a list of holiday attractions around campus this December. 


FEATURES 11/29/22 11:43pm

‘Flipping over the rock’: Remembering the fight against sexual violence

Three years ago, the Rice campus was enveloped by protests and discussions over the state of the university’s sexual assault policies. Partially lost to the mists of time and overshadowed by the pandemic a few months later, these protests are largely unknown to today’s student body after the numerous social disruptions these last few years have seen.


FEATURES 11/15/22 10:32pm

REMS to the rescue: Owls talk Collegiate EMS Week

From stubbed toes to life-threatening injuries, one group of dedicated students has seen it all. Throughout the past 26 years, Rice University Emergency Medical Services has rallied around the Rice community, providing support during natural disasters such as Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Katrina and administering 4,372 vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. For Collegiate EMS Week, which takes place during the second week in November, the organization hosted a series of events to increase their visibility and continue expanding their impact on campus. 


FEATURES 11/15/22 10:30pm

Tyler Perini wants to be the mentor he never had

Tyler Perini — or, as students call him, Dr. P — is a Pfeiffer Postdoctoral Instructor in Computational and Applied Mathematics who also researches multiobjective discrete optimization at Rice. He grew up in Atlanta and did his undergraduate at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, where he studied applied math. He later returned to Atlanta to Georgia Tech and received his Ph.D. in operations research. 


FEATURES 11/15/22 10:26pm

Spice up your Thanksgiving break with these activities

Explore new ways to celebrate Thanksgiving in the greater Houston area. From parades to adventure parks, there is a Thanksgiving Day activity — or two — for everybody to enjoy this season. Bundle up and head out into town on Thanksgiving Day to make some unforgettable fun-filled memories.


FEATURES 11/15/22 10:25pm

Senior Spotlight: Erin Harrison explores her boulder self at Rice

As a self-professed guide through the outdoors, Erin Harrison is no stranger to a bit of nature. From placing in national rock climbing competitions to leading trips for Rice Outdoor Programs and Education, Harrison’s love for climbing — which sparked nearly a decade ago — has remained constant throughout the years.



FEATURES 11/8/22 11:44pm

Juan José Castellón talks inspiration behind new exhibit

Juan José Castellón’s award winning exhibit “Building Ecologies: Collective Urban Infrastructures in Houston” is now open for visitors at POST Houston. Partnering with the TEDxHouston Countdown event, this project features sustainability and attempted solutions to the ongoing climate crisis through rooftop urban infrastructure.